


Way to let you win

by MissSanguineOus



Series: Founding mother, founding father [10]
Category: Belgariad/Malloreon Series - David & Leigh Eddings
Genre: F/M, I really enjoy writing the gods speaking, Relg does need some encouragement, it's so fun, so about that deal Belgarath made with Mara, though probably not as much as one (Silk) may think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 09:55:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15094331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSanguineOus/pseuds/MissSanguineOus
Summary: The gods decide to pay Taiba and Relg a visit and inform them of the glorious purpose they have been burdened with.





	Way to let you win

 

In the past weeks, Taiba usually welcomed sleep and gladly descended into its embrace when it came. Being tired both physically and mentally at the end of the day she wanted nothing more than this blessed numbness to rain upon her.

However, for a few days now, she had to fight to keep her eyes open and not fall asleep. Not in her own chamber anyway.

As she could have expected, Relg, although having quickly begun to enjoy her kisses and caresses, was still implacable when it came to actual lovemaking, claiming that, seeing as they were not husband and wife, it would be a sin. Figures. Taiba wondered whether that meant he was going to propose marriage to her at some point, seeing as he already mentioned it, or will she have to take the matters into her own hands and drag the unbearable zealot to the altar herself. Whether or not she was going to stay with him for the rest of their lives went without question. Obviously, she was. Relg was just still trying to figure out if his god won't mind it.

Taiba wasn't sure if Relg was waiting for the almighty UL to come down from above and smack the Ulgo in the face with the wedding vows or for other equally meaningful sign from the god. But she was in no hurry. They had plenty of time.

For now, Taiba busily made use of all the cracks and holes that appeared in Relg's armour of piety. For instance, she quickly developed a habit of sneaking into Relg's chamber at night, only to spend the rest of it cuddled against him under the warm blankets.

King Cho-Hag showed great hospitability and helpfulness, allowing the Ulgo troop to be located inside the Stronghold, unlike the rest of the army, which set up their camps outside.  The Ulgos may have grown used to being out in the open and having a sky above their head enough to fulfil their duties during the campaign, however Relg humbly asked the ruler of Algaria to allow his man to stay inside the Stronghold, since they still were far from comfortable being outside.  Despite the fortress being as crowded as it haven't been in decades, there was still more than enough room to accommodate a few dozen Ulgos, so the king didn't oppose. Relg was even allowed the luxury of having his own chamber. Taiba suspected that someone might have passed a word to the king about Relg being a rather difficult roommate, but she was more than happy about that fact, for it allowed her to visit the zealot whenever she pleased.

And now Taiba was lying in her bed, forcing her eyes to stay open and listening to the footsteps behind her door resounding more and more rarely, until she was sure the Stronghold inhabitants all went to sleep.

Finally deciding that she has to take a chance or else she'll fall asleep herself and the entire struggle will be in vain, Taiba left her bed and tiptoed out of the chamber.

Her eyes quickly got used to the dark, so she never bothered to take any light with her. Although the corridors of the Stronghold were deserted, the woman still crept by the walls. At some point, she had to hide in one of the window niches, having heard footsteps in the corridor perpendicular to the one she was walking. After a few seconds, a faint light appeared, followed by a slim figure in a white gown. Taiba didn't manage to get a good look, but she was almost sure that who she just saw was none other than Ariana, dressed maybe a bit too elegantly for sleep.

The Marag snorted soundlessly. She could have predicted that she wasn't the only one spending the night out of her own chamber.

Taiba didn't meet anyone else on the way. However, when she reached Relg's door and was about to open them, she froze, hearing muffled voices coming from inside the room.

The Marag frowned. Since when Relg's chamber was a place of social gatherings? And that late at night?

Taiba stood motionless for a couple of seconds, unable to decide what to do. Walk inside and interrupt? Go away? She didn't want to go away. Besides, she was curious as to who on Earth might be there with Relg.

Her dilemma was resolved by a deep, old voice, which spoke to her, Taiba could swear,  _in her head_ :

“Come inside, daughter mine”

She looked around, but, as she could have expected, she saw no one.

Taiba shrugged and opened the door.

Relg was kneeling on the floor, with his back towards her, bowed so deeply his forehead was almost touching the ground. In front of him stood two tall, glowing figures and despite being no sorceress, Taiba could tell that they didn't belong in the mortal world.

She stepped forward, observing them with curiosity.

“Welcome, child” one of them said.

He looked older than the other and instantly reminded Taiba of the Ulgos' Gorim, whom she met when they arrived in Prolgu after fleeing Cthol Murgos.

The other being, with long, flowing hair and a lean face said nothing, merely staring at the Marag in awe, looking as if he was on the verge of bursting into tears.

Relg glanced at Taiba from the floor and momentarily jumped up, standing in front of her and obscuring the beings from her view.

“For gods’ sake, woman!” he hissed “You can't present yourself to _gods_ like _this_!”

“Like what?” Taiba asked innocently.

“You know what!” Relg said “Your dress! It's indecent! You can't wear something like that!”

“Would you rather I took it off?” the woman raised her eyebrows.

Relg almost choked in outrage.

“It's just my nightrobe” Taiba shrugged “You're wearing your nightrobe as well”

“But mine isn't so revealing!”

“I know” Taiba sighed heavily.

Relg's face turned red and Taiba suppressed a triumphant smile. Gods, was she looking forward to the life of driving him insane.

“Aren't you going to introduce me?” she asked, glancing meaningly at the – what did Relg call them? Gods? - who were looking at them with interest.

The fanatic turned around and was about to drop to his knees again, but the older god stopped him.

“Please, son, don't” he said in a tired tone.

“My lord – my lords – I beg you to forgive this woman...”

“Be at peace, Relg” the god said “Let her come closer”

Taiba approached the gods, still observing them curiously. She guessed that the older one, the one resembling the Gorim, must be the almighty UL. He looked less scary than one could gather from how Relg spoke of him.

She wasn't sure about the other one. There was something vaguely familiar about his appearance, though Taiba could swear she'd never seen his face before. His eyes were the same color as her too.

“Dost thou know me, daughter?” he asked, his voice trembling.

Taiba tilted her head. His voice was familiar as well.

“You're Mara” she said, suddenly certain “The god of Maragor”

The god smiled, tears glistening in his eyes.

“My son hath been in grief, for the Marags perished” UL said solemnly “Yet now, Belgarath the sorcerer brought us the message of hope and my son rejoiced, for his people can be once more”

Taiba nodded politely, unsure of what the god of the Ulgos getting at. She glanced at Relg, but the man was staring at the floor, his head bowed respectfully. The Marag frowned. Should she stare at the floor too?

“Daughter mine” Mata said “Thou wilt be the mother of the race that died and came alive. Thou and my father's son shall parent the children of Maragor”

Taiba frowned. She glimpsed Relg's head jerking up in surprise.

“My lord..?” he said unsurely.

“What troubleth thee, my son?” UL asked mildly “Dost thou demur such a task?”

“No, my lord! Yes... I mean, I shall obey you, whatever you demand of me... but I... I can't... I...”

“What is it?” UL interrupted him “Dost thou not love her?”

“I do! But...”

“Dost thou not want her?”

“I do, but...” Relg's face turned red as he spoke.

Meanwhile, Taiba was still processing what she's learned in the past few moments, starting with the god Mara apparently demanding her and Relg's marriage, to Relg actually admitting that he loves her. What a day.

“Then whatever could possibly prevent thee from being with this woman?” UL asked.

Taiba glanced at Relg with interest. What will he say? Will he argue that she's a godless sinner and that it's bad enough he allowed himself to fall in love with her and that announcing it to the world was out of question? But, actually, how  _godless_ can one be if their god is standing right in front of them? Right now, of that one thing Relg could no longer accuse her.

“My task...” Relg said silently, his eyes fixed back on the floor “My mission in Prolgu, my lord. I was to find...”

“And find him thou shalt, my son” UL said and Taiba could swear she saw him _smirking_ for a second 

As if the god knew that this wasn’t the only thing concerning Relg, he added:

“It was never my demand that thou alienate thyself from other people in order to follow my will. Being with this woman and parenting is thy destiny”

Relg blushed once more.

_I'll be damned_ , Taiba thought,  _the gods did indeed came from above to make the wedding happen._ The thing was: she didn't like it.

“Forgive me, my... lords” she said “But don't _we_ get anything to say in that matter?”

“The prophecies foretold that, my dear child” Mara said gently “No one can fight that”

Taiba frowned. She was mentioned in a prophecy? She thought it was more of a Garion and Polgara’s thing _._ But why should she care anyway? She's had enough of people deciding her fate.

“Art thou saying that it is not thy wish to be with this man?” UL asked.

“No, my lord. But...”

“Is it the idea of bearing onto him children that repelleth thee?”

Taiba considered that for a second. There wasn't a day when she didn't think about her lost daughters. Sure, she laughed a lot, she talked a lot, she tried to distract herself the best she could, sometimes even succeeded, but she knew the memories of how she couldn't protect them will stay with her forever. The pain might have dulled, but it didn't go away.

Taiba wasn't  _repelled_ by the idea of having children. She was frightened. She didn't want any more pain, any more loss. 

But she knew that things were different now. She was no longer a slave. She was free, she was stronger and could fight. And she wasn't alone.

So no, she wouldn't mind having children again. Besides, it's not as if they could  _avoid it_ . Provided that Relg will no longer dread bedding her.

“No, my lord” she said firmly “But I do not wish Relg to marry me because _you_ demanded it of him”

Hoping that the gods won't incinerate her on sight, she turned towards Relg.

“I love you” she said, as the Ulgo stared at her wide-eyed “I do want to spend my life with you, but not because your god forced you to do so”

A couple of seconds passed before Relg found his voice:

“You really do?”

“Do what?”

“Love me?”

“Of course, silly” Taiba said, taking his hand “I thought it was obvious”

“And you would... marry me?”

“Only if you want it too”

Relg smiled to her. Gods, the smile did look good on him, even if it was something of an unusual sight.

He took her other hand.

“Taiba” he said unsurely “I love you. Will you... be my wife?”

The Marag grinned.

“Finally” she said “I thought I'd have to ask you myself. Of course I'll marry you”

She stepped forward to kiss him, but then remembered that the gods were watching, so maybe it wasn't that great of an idea. However, when she glanced to the side, she saw no one.

“Where did they go?” Taiba asked

“Hmm..?” Relg seemed slightly dazed by the events of the past few minutes.

“They're gone. The gods”

“Indeed...” Relg muttered.

Taiba finally noticed that the Ulgo is staring at her strangely.

“What?” she asked, amused.

“We... we're getting married” Relg stuttered.

“Yes, we are”

“We're really... getting married”

“Having second thoughts?” Taiba asked defiantly.

Apparently unable to fight the right answer, Relg simply pulled her into that postponed kiss.

_He's starting to make a habit of this_ , Taiba thought. Not that she minded.

Over the next couple of weeks, the memories of their meeting with UL and Mara were becoming more and more unclear, up to the point where neither Relg, nor Taiba could say whether it really happened or did they just dream of it.

However the wedding was happening most certainly and soon, for the Ulgos, together with Taiba, were returning to Prolgu in a few days time. Relg still seemed slightly flabbergasted, but didn't back out. During the short time that was left to the ceremony, he just glanced at Taiba from time to time, as if he still wasn't sure what's he doing by her side, though, certainly, not having much against it.

Taiba was just smiling smugly, as if this was her plan all along.

  
  


  
  


 

 


End file.
